Sad news for the Queen as she is forced to miss one of her favourite events

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is shown gardens being exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show in London, on May 24, 2004. - Gardens with plants in hundreds of different shades of green are one of the themes at the 2004 show, as the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) celebrates its bicentenary this year.
(Image credit: Getty)

The Queen is set to miss one of her favourite events, The Chelsea Flower Show, for the first time in 16 years this week.

  • The Queen will miss out on The Chelsea Flower Show for the first time since 2005 this year.
  • The Royal Horticultural Society's most famous event usually takes place in May but was postponed due to Covid restrictions this year and is now going ahead from 21st to 26th of September.
  • This royal news comes after it was revealed that the Queen's favourite hobby won her almost half a million pounds this year.

Her Majesty is expected to remain in her Scottish holiday residence of Balmoral this week, instead of heading to Chelsea to marvel at the floral displays.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, and Princess Alexandra are all expected to attend, with the monarch unable to make the beloved event.

Queen Elizabeth II looks at a display of roses on the Peter Beale roses display at the Chelsea Flower Show 2018 on May 21, 2018 in London, England. 

The annual celebration, which the Queen greatly enjoys, was moved from its original spring date to become the first ever autumn Chelsea Flower Show.

The Queen is said to have only missed ten Chelsea Flower Shows since her coronation in 1953. The last one Her Majesty missed out on was in 2005, while she visited Canada.

The Queen was last seen at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2019, smiling as she attended the event alongside her grandson, Prince William, and Kate Middleton.

The Queen Kate Middleton and Prince William at Chelsea Flower Show 2019

Credit: Getty

Of course, this will be the second year in a row the Queen has gone without the Chelsea Flower Show, as it was cancelled entirely in 2020 due to lockdown restrictions still being firmly in place.

Currently, the Queen is enjoying her annual break in Scotland, spending time away from Windsor and London at Balmoral Castle as a chance to unwind and recently had Prime Minister Boris Johnson to stay.

As for many, the past year or so has been a time of great change for the Queen, who lost her husband, Prince Philip, in April.

The Queen and Philip were married for 73 years and this year marks one of her first ever summers spent at Balmoral without the late Duke of Edinburgh since they tied the knot.

Kudzai Chibaduki
Features Writer

Kudzai Chibaduki joined Future as a trainee news writer for Good To, writing about fashion, entertainment, and beauty. She's now a freelance fashion wardrobe stylist and helps direct magazine photoshoots.